Search - Alexandre Tansman, The Silesian String Quartet :: Alexandre Tansman: Complete Music for String Quartet

Rich Harmonies Meet Fine Melodies

04/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've read that Tansman is considered something of an also-ran among his peers (Stravinsky and Ravel). While these quartets perhaps don't quite meet the first-rank of those two composers, it does a disservice to dismiss them merely for not being works of genius. I have enjoyed repeated listenings of them and continue to admire their striking, luminous harmonies (Tansman favors the extended 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths of a chord -- along with augmented 4ths) and clever contrapuntal inventions. But forget the technical babble -- this is richly entertaining music with enchanting aural surprises in every quartet (on the one hand Tansman's style is consistent over the 30 years he wrote these quartets -- but if you love his style, as I do, his "non-growth" is a positive). If you enjoy neo-romantic, neo-classical music (with a strong dash of impressionism) where feeling and technique don't get in the way of a well-arranged memorable melody, than Tansman's quartet series is worth the trouble investigating."